During the launch of NROL-68, the US put a new electronic reconnaissance satellite into space
The heavy launch vehicle Delta IV Heavy from United Launch Alliance (ULA) during the launch of NROL-68 launched the Orion 11 / Mentor 9 electronic reconnaissance satellite into Earth orbit. This is reported by the NSF website.
NROL launches are carried out under the National Reconnaissance Office’s (NRO) supervision. This organization is a member of the US intelligence community and an agency of the US Department of Defense. They design, build, launch, and operate intelligence satellites for the U.S. federal government, and provide satellite, radio-electronic, geospatial, and signature intelligence data to other government agencies.
The Orion / Mentor series of satellites have been launched since 1995, are placed in geostationary orbit and, thanks to a huge antenna (estimated to be more than 100 m in diameter), collect large volumes of radio signals and other radio intelligence data. The mass of satellites of the Orion / Mentor series is about 5,200 kg, and they are usually launched into orbit by Delta IV Heavy rockets.
The Delta IV Heavy is a heavy disposable launch vehicle from the United Launch Alliance, in use since 2004, and is second only to NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) (1 launch) and SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy (6 launches) in payload capacity. Delta IV Heavy has 14 successful and 1 partially successful launch, but this rocket is already retiring. NROL-68 is the penultimate flight of the Delta IV Heavy. The last launch, NROL-70, is scheduled for the first quarter of 2024.
Delta IV Heavy rocket launches US spy satellite on penultimate mission
United Launch Alliance's (ULA) powerful Delta IV Heavy rocket flew for the second-to-last time early Thursday morning (June 22).
The Delta IV Heavy lifted off from Florida's Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Thursday at 5:18 a.m. EDT (0918 GMT), on a mission for the U.S. National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) called NROL-68. The original target date was Wednesday (June 21), but a problem with a ground-system valve forced a one-day delay.
ULA cut off the webcast 6 minutes 45 seconds after launch at the request of the National Reconnaissance Office.
Related: Facts about the Delta IV Heavy
We know very little about the satellite going up on NROL-68. That's no surprise, given that it's an NRO payload; the agency operates the United States' fleet of spy satellites, whose capabilities and activities tend to be classified.
The NROL-68 mission patch — which features a baby dragon, its mother and the moon — offers a few clues, scant though they are.
"The baby dragon illustrates the birth of a new satellite system, while the moon with the mother dragon silhouette represent protection of the Five Eyes community, the nation and its allies," NRO officials wrote in a brief mission description. (Five Eyes is an alliance involving the intelligence communities of the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.)
"The passage along the bottom, Nusquam Celare, is Latin for 'Nowhere to Hide,'" NRO officials added. "The baby dragon may be science fiction, but NROL-68's impact on national security is real!"
NROL-68 is ULA's first mission of 2023 and the 15th Delta IV Heavy launch overall.
The burly rocket stands 235 feet (71.6 meters) tall and generates 2.1 million pounds of thrust at liftoff. That's a lot, but it's far from the record. For example, NASA's Space Launch System rocket, which debuted on the successful Artemis 1 moon mission last year, produces 8.8 million pounds of thrust.
And SpaceX's giant Starship vehicle — the largest and most powerful rocket ever built — produces about 16.7 million pounds of thrust. But Starship has yet to fly a successful mission; it suffered a few problems during its lone flight to date, an April 20 test launch, and SpaceX ordered the vehicle's destruction high over the Gulf of Mexico.
ULA is phasing out both the Delta IV Heavy and its workhorse Atlas V rocket in favor of the new Vulcan Centaur, which is slated to debut later this year. Whereas the Delta IV Heavy has just one more mission to go after Thursday, however, the Atlas V will keep flying for years to come. ULA has booked missions on the veteran rocket through 2029, mostly to build out Amazon's Project Kuiper internet constellation and send Boeing's Starliner astronaut taxi to the International Space Station.
Editor's note: This story was updated at 5:36 a.m. ET on June 22 with news of a successful launch.
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